Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,14

just pulling your chain. She called me fresh meat all last summer.” She looked from me to the chef. “Nice to see you again, Chloe.”

Chloe smirked as she handed us trays filled with burgers, bags of chips, brownies, and a carton of chocolate milk. True led the way to a table by the window, a few rows over from the other counselors.

“I think I’ve seen too many movies,” I say, sliding onto the bench across from her. “I thought all camp cooks were loud, obnoxious, ugly trolls.”

“Ha! Don’t let Chloe hear you say that.” She paused, looking back at the chef thoughtfully before locking eyes with me. “She’s hot, right? Like too hot to be working in the kitchen of some backwoods summer camp. It’s weird.”

I nodded in agreement as I picked up my burger and took a bite. It was warm and juicy, with cheese, mayonnaise, and pickles. Just the way I liked it. I groaned in pleasure, then froze as I looked up and caught Levi Kass staring at me.

His eyes were a beautiful mix of green and gray, a color I was sure couldn’t be natural. Maybe contacts? Either way, they’re mesmerizing. My eyes drifted over the angles and planes of his face, noting the creases in his forehead and the deep frown on his face.

“Piper,” True said, snapping her fingers in front of my face to get my attention.

“Sorry, what?” I mumbled, dragging my eyes to her face and forcing them to remain there.

“I asked you if you wanted to go for a swim after lunch. We have a couple of hours before our first meeting with the dean.”

“Sure,” I said, looking down at my tray as I took another bite of my burger.

When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I glanced up through my lashes to check if Levi was still watching me, but he was gone. My head swiveled toward the door, my mouth falling open before I snapped it shut.

Why did he leave in the middle of lunch? Was it because I was looking at him? Or was I being egotistical to even think his comings and goings had anything to do with me at all?

That boy was a mystery—one I felt a strange need to solve.

Chapter Six

“What are you waiting for, chicken? Come on in.” True glanced over one brown shoulder, squinting against the glare. She was thigh-deep in the water, her arms crossed over her chest as she inched deeper.

The camp lake was colder and murkier than I expected, which was really saying something. Small inland lakes were often a bit weedy, but this one seemed to need attention. I could see the muck from where I stood on the tiny beach.

“Are you sure we’re supposed to swim in here?” I bit my lip looking for signs that said “No Swimming” so I could use them as an excuse to keep dry, but, sadly, there were none.

Instead, there were a few sad canoes and kayaks lying upside down beside a rickety boathouse which contained yellowing lifejackets and chipped oars. True showed me the equipment shed before stripping off her tank top and jean shorts and wading into the water.

Her body was lean and looked amazing in her red one-piece. We’d been instructed that bikinis were prohibited⁠—too much skin for the campers to handle⁠—but my pale body had seen so little sun in the last year I didn’t mind covering it up as much as possible. It was definitely one of the reasons I still wore my shorts and T-shirt over my own one-piece.

“Ew, fish!” True said, jerking sideways. “Oh, wait, no. That’s just a log.”

“None of that sounds inviting,” I said, walking forward on the sand to let the water lap at my toes. It was a hot day. Maybe I could get in up to my ankles.

While she inched deeper, I glanced around Shadow Lake. It wasn’t very broad, and True claimed it wasn’t deep, but that might have been a lie to encourage me to get in. Ringed on three sides by trees, the lake was indeed covered by shadow, which added to the foreboding feeling that settled over me when I drew near.

Why did I get an ominous feeling every time I scanned the dark forest? Maybe because I worried Levi was there, in the depths, watching? He’d done it before, so why not now?

There wasn’t much more to look at, but voices drew my attention away from the water. On the shoreline to my right stood three